Within the school environment there are three groups that contribute to the management of self-harm as shown in the diagram below.

The Three corners of support

Research suggests that two in three teachers, parents and young people think that they would say the wrong thing if someone turned to them about self-harm. Despite this the overwhelming majority of all three groups want to open the dialogue so young people know where they can turn to (Youngminds, 2015).

There is a need to increase knowledge and communication around self-harm across all three groups. This will promote more consistency and empathy in the responses given to those who are self-harming. Resources and interventions need to enable people to talk more openly at a broad conceptual level to combat narrow views that exacerbate stigma and help all three groups provide better support to a young person who is self-harming.